Noonvale after Martin the Warrior
by Friendlyfoxfan
Summary: What happened after Martin departed on his way south to build Redwall? What became of his old friends? Find out in here!
1. Chapter 1

**Felldoh Lives!**

Martin the warrior had proceeded with his quest to venture south, alone. Around the same time Martin stumbled into the castle of Kotir, his old friends and companions were making themselves at home in Noonvale. The Rambling Rosehip players were rehearsing their parts in the mid-winter's show for that night.

"Ballaw! I saw that pasty! There's no eating during rehearsals!" Rowanoak thundered

"I'm not eating!" Ballaw protested, but it was too late. Rowanoak had reached behind the hare's back and had found a half-eaten pasty in his paws.

"Don't you dare chuck it! Bad form that!" Ballaw scowled, as Rowanoak made as if to hurl it into the nearby fountain.

"I wasn't going to. I was going to feed it to this poor little creature who has taken to watching our rehearsals!" Rowanoak answered, pointing to a young fox cub.

"Who's this then?" Ballaw asked

"His name is Friendly, and I can quite understand why" Rowanoak said "It would take a very friendly beast to watch our performance with you stuffing your face with goodness-knows what!"

"Won't you two just stop this? It's not very professional like!" A stern voice said from behind them. It was Brome.

"We came back here to live a life of peace and friendship! Not to argue over food!" Brome said

"Sorry Brome old lad, I'm just feeling hungry, that's all"

"Ballaw, when you're feeling hungry, just ask the troupe to take a break!" Brome said "Isn't that a simple fix?"

"Quite right, Brome" Rowanoak said "We should have breaks every so often"

"What a good idea! The last time I had a break was just before we started!" Ballaw said "Can I please have my pasty back, Rowan-old-oak?"

"Certainly, we all deserve a break" Rowanoak said, giving Ballaw his pasty back.

"I wonder what Felldoh would be like if he survived to see this place" Brome sighed.

* * *

_scene change_

* * *

At that very moment, Felldoh, the young, burly squirrel whom had been a rebel at Fortress Marshank was walking through the land of the Gawtrybe. He had awoken to find himself in a neatly dug pit. The air was stale, after having been covered over for days. Felldoh hardly remembered anything after he had won the challenge against Badrang, but he knew that someone had taken the trouble to dig him a nice, warm and hollow grave. Felldoh couldn't believe it, had Badrang really done this for him?

"That scummy stoat wouldn't have done anything so nice for his defenders, let alone an escaped slave whom had challenged him" Felldoh said to himself. His friends must have done this for him, thinking he was dead! Felldoh had known what to do, he was starving, he hadn't eaten for days on end, which meant he would get weaker. Felldoh took swift action to dig his way out. He survived, and what luck! There was plenty of food to be found nearby. He ate as he pleased, and made his way to Marshank to finish off what he had started, only to find Marshank almost deserted. After knocking Truman Clogg out with his own shovel, he shot out of Marshank and made his way to the west; towards Noonvale. Now he was plundering his way through the land of the Gawtrybe. Soon, he became aware that someone, something or even a lot of things were watching him.

"Who's there?" Felldoh barked

"Heeheeeheeeee! How many pairs of eyes do you need squirrel?" Came the response

"I'm in no mood for games! Show yourselves!" Felldoh shouted to the treetops.

The Gawtrybe squirrels leaped from the treetops and landed in a ring around Felldoh.

"Who are you? And what are you doing on Gawtrybe land?"

"I'm Felldoh. I'm in search of my friends. You haven't seen them, have you?"

"Depends. Are you really not in a mood for games?"

"Well, what will the answer be if I say 'No'?" Felldoh asked, sensing that his life could be in jeopardy again

"The Gawtrybe - kill you" Said a Gawtrybe squirrel. She was wearing many green feathers and a large white one in her headfur.

"Wait, just a minute. I think I remember you. Didn't you die fighting the tyrant stoat?" Another Gawtrybe squirrel inquired.

"Aye, I almost died. That scummy stoat almost murdered me, but I survived" Felldoh said, "Now, are you going to let me pass, or not?" Felldoh asked impatiently

"Yes, we will let you pass" The Gawtrybe said in unison. Where are you bound?"

"Noonvale" Felldoh answered

"We can take you as far as the mountain in the distance, from there Boldred the Owl will take you through to Noonvale from there"

"Good. Do I have to climb that great mountain by any chance?" Felldoh asked

"Sort of, but only half-way. Boldred lives in a tunnel which runs the length of the mountain" Came the reply "We will take you there, but we go no further than that"

Felldoh wasn't in much of a mood to inquire beyond this... these savage squirrels were not easy to trust. Still he let them take him to the mountain, hoping that they were telling the truth...

* * *

_scene change_

* * *

"Felldoh, he was a fine warrior" Ballaw said, bowing his head in memory. "Hohoho! I remember when Rowan threw another pasty and it was on his head!" Ballaw chuckled, and then did a bit of quoting "Hey there! There's a bally squirrel here thieving me tucker!"

"Heheeheee! That was ages ago!" Brome chuckled "I remember that, it just happened to land there - I think Felldoh was trying to make a hat out of it"

Everybody laughed.

"Well, young Friendly, tell us about yourself" Ballaw said to the fox cub, in a friendly tone.

"Eh? Er, well... I was born into a family with two sisters and a brother, all of them were unfriendly, all fit to roam the high seas when they were older, I was the exception. The only reason I'm alive is because my father has a slight trace of friendliness in him.

"What was his name?" Asked Brome, feeling a little curious

"Crosstooth, his two front fangs were crossed like swords" Friendly said "It was him who named me, my mother was as unfriendly as my brothers and sisters" Friendly said, remembering years gone by. Brome didn't want to break the news to the young fox that his father had been slain at Marshank.

"Well, we don't put up with unfriendliness and all that here, but since you are friendly... and you've got a name to prove it, you are welcome to stay in Noonvale" Brome said kindly to the fox. "Come on matey, tell us more!"

"Well, my father left with the Corsair stoat Truman Clogg to plunder the high seas when I was little more than an infant. My mother disowned me shortly afterwards, and left me to my own devices..." This caused a huge wave of pity to sweep among the friendly beasts gathered around him. "...And I had to make my own home around here. I've been in hiding to the North of this village ever since. But I've never revealed this peaceful place to anybody. Never!" Friendly said quickly, "I roamed around Noonvale by night, picking off on any scraps I could find. I also managed to find a few apple trees near my hut and feasted off on those.

"So that's where some of the pies on the windowsills went! I was being blamed for taking those!" Brome chuckled

"Don't you wish to see your father again?" Rowanoak asked him

"I'm not too fussed about him, I never knew him much" Friendly sighed sadly. "Sometimes I wish I did know him a little better, but at other times, I don't"

"Well, we know you now, and you know us now. So let's find you something nice to eat and a place to stay. You're welcome to stay in Noonvale" Brome smiled. He found himself becoming quite fond of the young fox, who was not much younger than himself...


	2. Chapter 2

**On to Noonvale**

Felldoh was being guided through Gawtrybe land, he saw the high mountain – which was slowly drawing nearer. Felldoh also noticed more Gawtrybe squirrels appearing, and they had somewhat sly looks on their faces – he didn't like the looks of this... Before long, they were all at the foot of the mountain.

"Well... are you sure you're not in a mood for games?"

"Now you come to mention it, it would pass the time a bit quicker" Felldoh said – somewhat sarcastically, "What's your game?"

"We're here at the mountain now. You run up the mountain, and we'll chase you!" The female squirrel chuckled

"What happens next?"

"We throw you off!" Said a male squirrel.

Felldoh was rather taken aback by the Gawtrybe-squirrel's statement, but he didn't show his fear – he easily could out-climb these squirrels!

"Right, just give me a small head start-" Felldoh began

"-No! We lost our last quarry to that"

"-just to the first ledge up" finished Felldoh

"Fine" The squirrels sighed

So, Felldoh began to climb... It was harder going than he thought it would be, but he kept going. As he reached the ledge, the Gawtrybe began their chase...

"Here we come!"

Felldoh chanced a brief look downwards... he couldn't believe his eyes! These squirrels were very experienced in how to climb this monstrosity. He kept climbing on bravely – before long, he knew wasn't too far from the cave, he could see it just above him, if he could just keep going...

"Aah - Ow!" Felldoh cried - one of the Gawtrybe squirrels had grabbed one of his paws and his tail!

"Gotcha!" The squirrel laughed

* * *

_scene change_

* * *

Meanwhile, everybody in Noonvale was preparing for the evening's performance. Friendly tried as best he could to help out, but he couldn't stop himself from eating the delicious treats and pastries that were fresh from the ovens – and Ballaw's ravenous appetite only made things worse.

"Where's my apple pie?" Brome squeaked, "I put a lot of work into that!"

"BALLAW!" Rowanoak roared, "Stop eating and get working! We're performing soon!"

"You don't have to bally well blow my ears to bits, wot? Still, they do say 'actions speak louder than words'!" Ballaw chuckled to himself

"Rowanoak's right, Ballaw" Pallum said, trying her best to stay polite

"I'll go and see what Barkjon's up to" Brome said

These days, Barkjon spent most of his time by the willow trees, remembering his lost son. This evening, he had decided to come to the celebration.

"Oh! This is wonderful" Barkjon said to himself, "If only my son were here to enjoy it too" A sad tear fell from his eyes, which twinkled in the fading sunlight.

"Felldoh..." Brome said, "Oh, how I miss him so!"

"We mustn't live in the past, Brome" Keyla said, "Felldoh gave his life to give us tonight's get-together"

"I know, but if only Felldoh hadn't been so... so reckless"

"Reckless was Felldoh's middle name" Keyla said, "He was a natural warrior – like Martin"

The mention of the warrior mouse brought tears to Brome's eyes too - his sister, Rose, had also died in the battle at Marshank.

"I hear you've taken to the Noonvale River quite well, young Keyla" Barkjon said, trying hard to make things more cheerful.

"Well... it's quite a nice place, isn't it!" Keyla chuckled, "Tulgrew and the other otters have also become fond of it here"

* * *

_scene change_

* * *

Felldoh struggled to shake the squirrel off, but the firm grip on his tail didn't show any signs of slackening.

"It's time to fly, fellow-squirrel!" The Gawtrybe squirrels laughed

"Not in my books..." Felldoh said, and he brought a few small pebbles raining down on the squirrels below him – they scattered, and the one holding his tail released it, moving away from the falling debris. Felldoh climbed onwards, and into the tunnel. The Gawtrybe squirrels didn't dare to follow him – they retreated as fast as they could back to the forest below.

"Who are you?" Boomed Boldred, "This is the first time a squirrel has dared to set foot into my tunnel"

"I... I'm not one of them!" Felldoh stammered, "I'm on my way to Noonvale, could you help me there?"

Boldred outstretched her talons – as she had with Rose. Felldoh concealed his fear, but he couldn't help a small gasp from escaping his lips.

"I believe I recognize... No, it can't be. It just can't"

"I think I know who you're thinking of" Felldoh said politely, "I'll explain"

And so, Felldoh told Boldred his story... about how he had attempted to take Badrang on alone, but he had failed... and he told her of the journey he had taken so far.

"Noonvale is not far away..." Boldred said baldly, "I'll take you through my tunnel, and we'll see about some transport to Noonvale for you from there"

* * *

_scene change_

* * *

In Noonvale, everybody was taking their seats to watch the Rambling Rosehip Players' performance. Urran Voh and Aryah were seated alongside Brome and Keyla. Both of them had been overcome with grief at the news of Rose's brave sacrifice, but they tried hard to put it behind them.

"They were our only hope when Felldoh and I were washed ashore together, father" Said Brome, "I'm glad we met them – it's so funny, looking back at it" Brome chuckled slightly at the memory of it all.

"You didn't do badly yourself Brome" Keyla said, "You were the one who rescued the rest of us from..."

"...Don't, please" Urran Voh pleaded

The show was about to start. The lights around the audience dimmed down as the recently-lit fire suddenly exploded in green smoke. As the players began to chant their ditty, the ones closest to the fire reopened their dazzled eyes, rubbing them gently as they regained their sight.

"Well, they know how to put on a good show!" Urran Voh commented

Ballaw was juggling with his three balls – one red, another yellow, and the other blue. Trefoil the squirrelmaid was dancing around with one of the cream-cakes – but she wasn't watching where she was going. She ploughed straight into the hare, and all of his balls went flying – along with the cream-cake, which landed on Ballaw's head!

The audience laughed aloud, applauding merrily as the furious hare chased Trefoil up a tree.

"That wasn't in the script!" Ballaw exclaimed

"It was still funny though" Trefoil chuckled as Ballaw paced over to the audience

"Rotters! You lot think that this is funny?" Ballaw said – but in a way so that the audience knew that this was still a part of the show.

"It's hilarious!" The audience shouted back

"Hmph!" Ballaw huffed, proceeding to pick his balls up, but he slipped on the scattered remains of the cream-cake. The performance went on well into the night, everybody in Noonvale enjoyed it, and it was soon time for bed.

* * *

_scene change_

* * *

As the Noonvalers settled down into peaceful slumber, Felldoh and Boldred had reached the other end of the tunnel, by the riverbank.

"Those trees will make a good place to sleep for the night, nobody comes this way at this hour"

"Thanks, Boldred" Felldoh said, he waded his way across the river, and climbed swiftly into the branches above... the trees offered a good view of the river – both up and down – and it wasn't too uncomfortable either. Felldoh settled down for a good night's sleep, while Boldred went back into her tunnel...


End file.
